MONTHLY DRAWING FOR A FREE HAT! One Montecristi and Two Cuenca hats given away free! Simply subscribe to our free newsletter you'll be automatically entered for our monthly drawings.

The Hats All Montecristi hats have hand-cut, hand-sewn USA tanned leather sweatbands and hand-sewn grosgrain ribbon. If you need a long brim or high crown, simply leave a note at checkout and I'll follow up with you on the price, generally $20.00 per additional cm (weaving around the end of the hat takes a long, long time!). Average brims are in the range of 2 3/4 to 3 inches this year. Please leave a note if you want a specific brim length. We'll guarantee to be within a 1/4 inch. These are made a world away in another culture, so we ask for the 1/4 inch leeway. Brim lengths measured from the front of hat.

Weave and Quality Choices All of our high-end finos come from the barrio of Pile, where the best weavers in the world live. We do offer other hats from both Pile and the other barrios. Weave count average based on the hat in it's natural state, before blocking. We aim to please, so the prettier hat wins over the weave count.

A comparison of weaves-per-square-inch. The left is a Fino, the right is an Alafino For comparison purposes only. All of our high-end finos come from the barrio of Pile, where the best weavers in the world live. We do offer other hats from both Pile and the other barrios.

Espinales 20 Fino (2000 weaves, avg.): $2000.00  — Commissioned or bought personally for you from one of the best weaving families in Pile! SORRY! None of the hats are woven by Simon Espinal, his servitude is indentured and we don't treat people that way.

Espinales 16 Fino (1600 weaves, avg.): $1600.00  — Commissioned or bought personally for you from one of the best weaving families in Pile! SORRY! None of the hats are woven by Simon Espinal.

Espinales 14 Fino (1400 weaves, avg.): $1400.00  — Commissioned or bought personally for you from one of the best weaving families in Pile! SORRY! None of the hats are woven by Simon Espinal.

EspiFino 13 (1300 weavs, avg.): $1200  — Commissioned or bought personally for you from one of the best weaving families in Pile! SORRY! None of the hats are woven by Simon Espinal.

AlaFino 1000-1300 weaves avg.): $800  — Commissioned or bought personally for you from one of the best weaving families in Pile!

Fino Fino (800-1000 weaves avg.): $513  — This is called "Special Reserve" by some. It's sixth down the quality line for us. Commissioned or bought from one of the best weaving families in Pile or Pampas.

Super Fino (600-800 weaves avg.): $339  — Commissioned or bought from one of the best weaving families in Montecristi.

Extra Fino (500-600 weaves avg.): $281  — Commissioned or bought from one of the best weaving families in Montecristi. This is called Fino Fino by our competition.

Fino (400+ weave avg.): $181  — Commissioned or bought from one of the best weaving families in Montecristi. This is called Super Fino or Ultra Fino by our competition.

Medio Fino(250+ weave avg.): $135  — Bought at market directly. This is called Fino by our competition

Cuarto Fino (150+ weave avg.): $85  — Bought from one of the pre-teen or teenage weavers, or weekend weavers in Montecristi. We need to keep them weaving!

Three Choices for Blocking

You can choose to have your hat blocked in the USA Ecuador by hand in Montecristi Ecuador by professionals on fine antique equipment by a family of artesanos. Either choose from the menu at the top of the page or click the links here to explore your options.

© 2009; Panama Hatworks of Montecristi, www.panamas.biz